Edgar Laprade, Center and Gentleman on the Ice, Dies at 94

Edgar Laprade, the Hall of Fame Rangers center of the 1940s and ’50s who was known for his playmaking skills and his gentlemanly behavior on the ice, died on Monday at his home in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He was 94.

His daughter Bonnie Morrison confirmed the death.

The Rangers won the Stanley Cup championship in 1940, but went into eclipse during World War II, then made the playoffs only twice in a six-team league during Laprade’s time with them.

But there were a couple of Rangers back then who brought hope to the old Madison Square Garden: Laprade, their small (he stood 5 feet 8 and weighed 160 pounds) but speedy center, and goalie Chuck Rayner, also a future Hall of Famer.

Playing all 10 of his N.H.L. seasons with the Rangers, Laprade was a superb puck handler and penalty killer, and he seemed to glide effortlessly along the ice.

His finesse was evident even to a hockey novice like William Faulkner, who was commissioned by Sports Illustrated to witness his first hockey game.

Attending a January 1955 matchup between the Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens at the Garden, Faulkner singled out three players who were “as fluid and fast and effortless as rapier thrusts or lightning”: the Canadiens’ Maurice Richard and Bernie Geoffrion and “the veteran Laprade, still with the know-how and the grace.”

“There must have been little boys in that throng,” Faulkner wrote, who were “frantic with the slow excruciating passage of time, panting for the hour when they would be Richard or Geoffrion or Laprade.”

Laprade never enjoyed the fame attained by the Canadiens known as the Rocket (Richard) and Boom Boom (Geoffrion). But he became one of the finest players of his era, winning the Calder Trophy as the N.H.L.’s rookie of the year in 1945-46 and capturing the Lady Byng Trophy for outstanding play combined with sportsmanship in 1949-50.

He played in the N.H.L. All-Star Game every season from 1947 to 1950. He had 108 goals and 172 assists and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993 in the veterans’ category.

Laprade did not incur a single penalty in three of his seasons, playing in 151 games. He drew only 42 penalty minutes in 500 career games.

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In 10 N.H.L. seasons, Edgar Laprade, shown at age 34 when he ended a brief retirement, drew only 42 penalty minutes in 500 career games.CreditWilliam N. Jacobellis

The Red Wings’ Benny Woit recalled how Laprade’s disdain for rough play once gave pause even to Ted Lindsay, Detroit’s feisty Hall of Fame wing who also had a 5-foot-8, 160-pound frame.

“Teddy Lindsay nailed him this one time,” Woit was quoted in “The Gods of Olympia Stadium” (2003), by Richard Kincaide. “The blood all over the place. He kind of looked at Edgar and almost apologized.”

As Laprade told the Hockey Hall of Fame, “I was taught early on that you can’t score from the penalty box.”

Edgar Louis Laprade was born on Oct. 10, 1919, in Mine Centre, Ontario, but grew up in Port Arthur, which later amalgamated with Fort William to form the city of Thunder Bay, on the north shore of Lake Superior. He skated on outdoor rinks as a youngster. “You didn’t feel the cold when you were playing,” he recalled, “but as soon as you stopped, you just froze.”

After playing amateur hockey and serving in the Canadian Army, he was signed by the Rangers in 1945, then won rookie of the year honors at 26. He became known as the Beaver for his hard-working play.

During training camp in October 1948, Laprade was riding with four teammates in Quebec when their car collided with another vehicle, leaving Laprade and three others unconscious. He had a broken nose but was soon back in the lineup.

The Rangers surprised the hockey world in 1950 when they made it to the Stanley Cup finals against the Red Wings. Although he was wearing a knee brace, having torn a ligament late in the regular season, Laprade scored three goals in the playoffs. The Rangers took Detroit to a decisive Game 7, losing in double overtime.

Laprade later fractured a leg, broke his jaw and briefly retired. He came back but retired for good after the 1954-55 season.

He owned a sporting goods store in Thunder Bay.

His wife, Arline, died in 1987. In addition to his daughter Bonnie, he is survived by two other daughters, Judith Doncaster and Marcia Parry; a sister, Merle McDonnell; seven grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Through the years, Laprade held fast to his credo on how hockey should be played.

“The basic game hasn’t changed that much,” he told The Globe and Mail of Toronto in 2011. “What’s changed is the people who play the game. The players have become more mean.”

He added: “The hockey I like is the ladies’ hockey at the Olympics.”

Correction:

An earlier version of this obituary misstated the given name of one of Laprade’s daughters. She is Bonnie Morrison, not Connie.

Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B16 of the New York edition with the headline: Edgar Laprade, 94, Center and Gentleman on the Ice. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe